Excellent Space Opera

[Hobbit]

You know, until you mentioned it there I hadn't realised what a male orientated list that was.

Female sf writers.....

OK. Karen Traviss is well liked around here at the moment (City of Pearl/Crossing the Line). I enjoyed Karin Lowachee's Warchild when I read it and have the sequel to read. Nancy Kress? Rather traditional SF. Julie E. Czerneda might be worth an addition. Liked 'In the Company of Others'. But they are more traditional SF - IMO none of these have 'that style' like a Morgan or a Grimwood. Tricia Sullivan (see 'Maul') is possibly the closest I can think of, though I wasn't that impressed with it myself. CJ Cherryh's an obvious one, (Downbelow Station/Cyteen) though I have struggled with some of hers. Fantastic ideas but quite slow. Justina Robson's well liked (though I haven't had chance to read any of hers. Natural History was nominated for an award, if I remember right).

I'd love to see Mary Gentle (see Ash, A Secret History, and Orthe) try a space opera, though I would've thought it unlikely.

I'll keep thinking! Should keep you going though.

Hobbit

[MDP]

You know, until you mentioned it there I hadn't realised what a male orientated list that was.

Female sf writers.....

OK. Karen Traviss is well liked around here at the moment (City of Pearl/Crossing the Line). I enjoyed Karin Lowachee's Warchild when I read it and have the sequel to read. Nancy Kress? Rather traditional SF. Julie E. Czerneda might be worth an addition. Liked 'In the Company of Others'. But they are more traditional SF - IMO none of these have 'that style' like a Morgan or a Grimwood. Tricia Sullivan (see 'Maul') is possibly the closest I can think of, though I wasn't that impressed with it myself. CJ Cherryh's an obvious one, (Downbelow Station/Cyteen) though I have struggled with some of hers. Fantastic ideas but quite slow. Justina Robson's well liked (though I haven't had chance to read any of hers. Natural History was nominated for an award, if I remember right).

I'd love to see Mary Gentle (see Ash, A Secret History, and Orthe) try a space opera, though I would've thought it unlikely.

I'll keep thinking! Should keep you going though.

Hobbit

ok, Hobbit.
I like Nancy Kress a lot. In fact have read all of the above aside from Traviss, Lowachee and Julie Czerneda, so might venture there, thanks. I was going to add Mary Gentle to 'those I wish would write sf' list but decided that would never happen. I think Ash is a brilliant book.

MDP

[Hobbit]

Erm.... I have been known to mention Ash a lot round here.... so much, so that many have claimed I'm on commission (sadly not).... and it was so unexpected when I read it.

I'd read Golden Witchbreed and Ancient Light and thought they were OK, though nothing really special. So Ash was such a shock. Still one of the best books I've read in 30+ years of reading the stuff.

OK - one last one for now. A few years ago I was lucky to pick up (and that's not easy, because it's very heavy!) an ARC copy of 'The Hard Sf Renaissance' edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, from TOR. It's all short stories, but one of the best I've read Sf compilations I've seen in recent years. Nancy Kress's original short story 'Beggars in Spain' is in there, so too Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Reed, Vernor Vinge, Ted Chiang, ACC, and lots of others. Was published 2002, so there are others such as Charlie Stross emerging now. Still might be worth a skim if you're trying to get an idea of the breadth, but at 960 small printed pages it could also be used for weight training!

Hobbit

[Sammie]

'Ash' is fantastic......and it brings back many fond memories to see Hobbit bringing it up again

In a more on topic way ..... (Hi Marianne, btw! I don't think I've said hi yet!).....if they count as Space Opera (I'm never sure) then the first 'Dune' book is my absolute favorite. (But I don't think it does, being as it's not actually set in space....). Discounting that then..........Stephen Donaldson's 'Gap sequence' is fantastic. And Cherryh's 'Downbelow Station' really stands out. (I loved that female spaceship captain woman........suspect she may have been based on Ash ). It's a little more trite, but I also loved Anne McCaffreys' 'Tower and the Hive' series, which I suspect falls into the space opera category.

Bit of a prejudice for strong, well-formed, female characters, I think...

[MDP]

Bit of a prejudice for strong, well-formed, female characters, I think...

I'm right behind that sort of prejudice Sammie. Hi to you too!

I really enjoyed the gap series when I read it several years ago, but I suspect now I might find his treatment of the character Morn Hyland rather difficult to tolerate. No doubt though that Stephen D. can put it together when he chooses.


Thanks for your thoughts, and on this subject...who is your favourite female protagonist in spec fic?

MDP

[Sammie]

My only problem with the Gap was that I felt Donaldson went too far in his attempt to show us Angus' motivations/what had made him how he was.....and started attempting to justify what I felt was unjustifiable behaviour, under any circumstance.

Favorite spec-fic-chick? Now that's a really tough one! Straight off the top of my head I'm torn between Ash, and McCaffrey's Lessa. I inititally loved Kahlan, in Terry Goodkind's first two books, but after that, to quote another disgruntled reader, the characters became 'caricatures of themselves' and lost their appeal. Lessa I find a suprisingly well-rounded character, and actually think this first book of McCaffreys has more 'colour' and passion than any of her later works. I realise this is very fantasy based - imo there is a dearth of good strong female characters in science fiction literature. The TV series seem to be getting the hang of it: Aeryn Sun, in Farscape, epitomises the kick-ass sci-fi-chick for me. It seems to be harder to transfer this over to the written word, for some reason....

[Hobbit]

I've got to add to that too, Marianne. I like Donaldson's stuff but have yet to finish The Gap series. I read the first three, after which they became so over the top (IMO) and pantomime-like, that I couldn't finish them.

And I know that there are people out there who really like the series.

Another note: Alastair Reynolds recent interview HERE BE CAREFUL: SPOILERS!

.. but the title is Alastair Reynolds, builder of the British New Space Opera, is busy creating the future one world at a time. British New Space Opera?

Feminine heroines.

Hmm. Aenea from Dan Simmons's Endymion; Cirocco Jones in John Varley's Titan series; Friday (Robert Heinlein); Susan Calvin (Asimov's Robot series); and in a similar way, Ariane Emory from CJ Cherryh's Cyteen; more recently, Shan Frankland, (Karen Traviss' City of Pearl); Arienrhod/Moon Dawntreader Summer, (Joan Vinge's Snow and Summer Queen). Oh, and Morgaine from CJ Cherryh's series, as well as Signy Mallory from Downbelow Station, too.

Oh, and Ash. (who came about over 15 years after Downbelow Station, btw!)

Well, they might not all be 'heroines' - some of them are downright nasty! - but they certainly deserve my respect.

Hobbit

[Hereford Eye]

Strong Female Leads- continued:
Elizabeth Moon's Paksennarion and Heris Serrano.
John Hersey's White Lotus.
Sheri S. Tepper's Jewel Delis
David Weber's Honor Harrington (although I have not read the latest story0

[Sammie]

Hmm. Aenea from Dan Simmons's Endymion; Cirocco Jones in John Varley's Titan series; Friday (Robert Heinlein); Susan Calvin (Asimov's Robot series); and in a similar way, Ariane Emory from CJ Cherryh's Cyteen; more recently, Shan Frankland, (Karen Traviss' City of Pearl); Arienrhod/Moon Dawntreader Summer, (Joan Vinge's Snow and Summer Queen). Oh, and Morgaine from CJ Cherryh's series, as well as Signy Mallory from Downbelow Station, too.

Good grief. I haven't read any of those!!!!

[MDP]

: Aeryn Sun, in Farscape, epitomises the kick-ass sci-fi-chick for me. It seems to be harder to transfer this over to the written word, for some reason....

Hi Sammie,

Aeryn Sun rules! Excepting err...umm...you haven't met Parrish Plessis yet. She kinda thinks SHE rules.

MDP

[MDP]

.
Sheri S. Tepper's Jewel Delis
David Weber's Honor Harrington (although I have not read the latest story0

Hi HE,

Jewel Delis - she was in Beauty? What a great book.
But Honour was always a bit stiff for me. (not that I've read all of the books by any means)

MDP

[Rocket Sheep]

I've met Parrish and I wouldn't argue with her.

Can space opera come in single volumes? Or do those lose the definition of opera. I'm not very good at reading series.

[MDP]

I've met Parrish and I wouldn't argue with her.

Can space opera come in single volumes? Or do those lose the definition of opera. I'm not very good at reading series.

Most definitely. SO series though tend to be different than Fantasy series. I think the good ones encompass so many ideas that each book is a feast in itself.
MDP

[Rocket Sheep]

So books like CJC's Heavy Time, or Chasm City are SO?

For someone who doesn't manage to collect series of books very well, I've somehow managed to get all Maxine McArthur's books recently. Will they be SO when I eventually get around to reading them?

A feast of books. V. Nice!

[Hobbit]

So books like CJC's Heavy Time, or Chasm City are SO?

Yup.

I've somehow managed to get all Maxine McArthur's books recently. Will they be SO when I eventually get around to reading them?

Yup, I'd say so, or at least based on the first one which I've read.

Be interesting to see what you think, Sheepie (or Marianne!). I read it as it came highly recommended, but in the end.... no, I'll wait till you've read it/the rest in the series.

OK Marianne, one for you. List your top 5 (not necessarily in any particular order) SO books. The reasons behind them could be interesting too...

....and as another thought - at the risk of limiting yourself, would you say that the Parrish books are SO? (The first two've just arrived in the post, btw - and to my mind, the covers to the UK books are very reminiscient of Trinity/Aeryn Sun, Sammie!) (But that's as far as I've got, Marianne. )

Hobbit